1970 20 Dave McNally
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| Dave McNally |
When this card was on the store shelves, Dave McNally was in the midst of the third of his four 20 win seasons in a row. He would win 24 in 1970 and would be the runner up to Jim Perry of the Twins in the AL Cy Young award balloting. He repeated the accomplishment referenced in the cartoon by hitting another world series home run in 1970. But the 1970 World Series home run was a grand slam - the only pitcher ever to do so.
McNally's statistical accomplishments are lengthy. Those accomplishments have been overshadowed because he was one of four Oriole pitchers to win 20 games in 1971 and because Jim Palmer's career continued for many years after McNally retired. But I have always believed that McNally was the best of the four during the height of the Oriole dynasty.
This card is the second multiple-of-10 card in the series. I believe that Yastrzemski (#10) is still the best card so far, solely because Yastrzemski played more years than McNally and because everyday players tend to overshadow pitchers.
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